On the conditions and arrangements for opening and operating the foreign currency accounts of residents and non-residents
THE GOVENOR,
Mindful of the Statutes of the Bank of Central African States in force;
Mindful of Regulation No. 02/18/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 21 December 2018on exchange rate regulation in CEMAC;
Pursuant to articles 41 and 43 of the said Regulations,
HEREBY GIVES THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS
Section 1 - General provisions
Article 1 - The purpose of this Instruction is to define the conditions and procedures for opening foreign currency accounts to residents and foreign currency and CFAF accounts to non-residents inside and outside CEMAC. It also specifies the operation of these accounts.
Article 2 - The opening of accounts in foreign currencies outside the CEMACis prohibited to resident corporations, other than credit institutions, subject to the authorisation of the Central Bank.
Article 3 - The opening of a foreign currency account in the CEMAC is prohibited to resident persons. However, the Central Bank may authorise a corporation to open a foreign currency account in a credit institution located in the CEMAC.
Article 4 - The term of foreign currency accounts may not exceed 2 years, subject to the possibility of renewal.
Article 5 - The Central Bank shall inform the Ministry in charge of currency and credit of the authorisations granted to resident corporations to open foreign currency accounts outside the CEMAC.
Article 6 - The opening of foreign currency and CFAF accounts in CEMAC for nonresidents is free.
Section 2 - Opening and operation of foreign currency accounts outside the CEMAC by resident corporations
Article 7 - The opening of a foreign currency account by a corporation resident outside the CEMAC is subject to the prior authorisation of the Central Bank. To this end, the resident corporation shall send it a reasoned request for authorisation, which shall specify in particular the following information:
- the applicant's corporate name;
- the currency of the account;
the identification of the bank hosting the account (company name or name, address, country); - the reasons why the account is being opened; the transactions that may be credited and debited to the account, accompanied, where applicable, by the relevant supporting documents.
In addition, the application for authorisation to open a foreign currency account shall be accompanied by the following documents:
- the draft account agreement, if applicable;
the applicant's undertaking to provide the Central Bank with all information relating to the operation of the foreign currency account abroad; the extract from the trade and personal property Credit Register or any document in its place dated less than 03 months : -the statutes of the corporationand those of the parent company, if any; - the identity of the directors and main shareholders; - agreements signed with the state or any other partner, if applicable ; recent financial statements ; - any other supporting documents deemed useful by the central bank.